THE LÜNEBURG SHIP LIFT OVERCOMES

A DIFFERENCE IN ELEVATION OF 38 METRES 

LÜNEBURG升船机克服了38米的落差

The ship lift at Scharnebeck can raise up to two ships each with a maximum length of 100 m at the same time, thus connecting two canals: the Elbe-Seitenkanal and the Mittellandkanal. The facility is in operation around the clock , 360 days a year. The demands on technology and safety are correspondingly high, as a look behind the scenes shows.

Scharnebeck 的升船机最多可同时移动两艘最大长度为 100 m 的船舶，从而连接易北河侧运河和中部运河。该设备全天运行，全年无休，因此对技术和安全性的要求也相应很高。

A SUPERLATIVE STRUCTURE

超级建筑

You can’t miss the Scharnebeck ship lift: even from a distance the bright concrete towers and the two red tanks stand out impressively in the landscape. When it was commissioned at the end of 1975 after eight years of construction, the double ship lift was the world’s largest installation of its kind; today , it is still the second largest in Europe. It takes only three minutes for the ships to overcome the 38 m difference in height between the Elbe-Seitenkanal and the Mittellandkanal by means of two independently operating tanks. “ Including entry and exit , the transit takes only 30 minutes, which is much faster than a lock,” explains workshop manager Christian Bade. Designed for the so-called ‘Europe ship’, the standard vessel in inland navigation at the time, the tanks can accommodate ships with a maximum length of 100 m each, with a width of up to 11.80 m. Many of the ships on the route are in fact tailor-made to these dimensions in order to achieve maximum transport volume. And the traffic on the Elbe-Seitenkanal is considerable: around 20,000 ships a year pass through the ship lift in both directions. The facility is, therefore, open around the clock. “As with trucks, rest periods also apply to inland skippers. After they have registered with the control centre by radio, they can set the time of their transit to the end of their break,” Bade reports. To prevent tailbacks on the canal in such cases, there is a lower and an upper outer harbour in Scharnebeck.

您不能错过的Scharnebeck升船机：即使从远处看，明亮的混凝土塔和两个红色的水槽在景观中也令人印象深刻。 1975 年底，经过八年的建设，双船提升机投入使用时，是世界上同类设备中最大的，今天仍然是欧洲第二大。

只需要3分钟，通过两个独立的槽，过往船只就能克服易北河侧运河和中部运河之间的 38 米落差。包括进口和出口，整个过程仅需30分钟，这比锁要快得多，” 升船机车间经理 Christian Bade 解释道。专为当时标准的内河航运船“欧洲船”设计，槽内可容纳长度最大为 100 米，宽度可达 11.80 米 的船只。事实上，这条航线上的许多船舶都是针对这些尺寸“量身定制”的，以实现最大的运输量。易北河侧运河上的航运交通非常繁忙：每年约有 20,000 艘船来往升船机。因此，该设施必须全天候开放。 “就像驾驶卡车一样，船长们也有休息时间，通过无线电登录控制中心后，他们可以将时间设置到休息结束，”Bade 说道。为了防止这种情况下运河出现交通堵塞，Scharnebeck上下游均有外港。

A LOOK INTO THE ENGINE ROOM

引擎室一瞥

The two tanks weigh 5,800 t each when filled with water. Whether it’s a fully loaded tanker, a cargo ship with empty containers or pleasure boat: the tanks always remain the same weight. “This is where the Archimedean principle of displacement comes into play: the ships displace as much water from the tank as they weigh”, explains Bade. This law of nature is used in the functional principle of the system. Each tank is held by 240 steel cables. At the other end of the 54-mm-thick cables, which are guided over a pulley, there are 224 concrete blocks, each weighing 26.5 t, as a counterweight, almost 6,000 t in total. Lifting and lowering the tanks is thus particularly energy-efficient. Four three-phase motors with 160 kW power each are sufficient for each tank. Each of the two tanks also has four guide towers. Here, among other things, the toothed racks are mounted, via which the tanks are safely moved up and down.

两个水槽在装满水时各自重达 5,800 吨。无论是满载的油轮、装有空集装箱的货船还是游船：两个水槽的重量始终保持不变。 “这就是阿基米德定律：船只从水槽中排出的水与船的重量一样多”，Bade 解释道。这套系统的原理就是利用了这一自然规律。 每个水槽由 240 根粗达54h毫米的钢索支撑，通过滑轮引导，钢索的另一端是224 块配重混凝土块，每块重 26.5 吨，总计近 6,000 吨，因此能高效提升和降下水槽。四个三相电机，每台输出功率为 160 kW，足以满足每个槽的需求。每个水槽都有四个导向塔。 此外还安装了齿条，水槽通过齿条安全地上下移动。

HYDRAULICS ENSURE SAFETY

液压确保安全

Almost ten million tonnes of goods passed through the Scharnebeck ship lift last year. This corresponds to about 400,000 fully loaded lorries. In addition to classic bulk goods such as gravel, general cargo with containers has become increasingly important in recent years. Regardless of the cargo, maximum safety is always the guiding principle. The plant , therefore , has numerous safety devices that work hydraulically. “Each tank has a hydraulically-operated retaining device that keeps it securely in position during the entry and exit of the ships. Hydraulics are also used to close the gates at both ends of the tanks and the associated canal gates, as well as automatically adjusting the canal gates to the water level,” says Bade, giving an insight into the practical aspects of the lift’s operations The demands on technology are correspondingly high, so when it comes to hydraulics , the ship lift has consistently relied on HANSAFLEX as a partner for several years.

去年有近 1000 万吨货物通过 Scharnebeck 升船机。这相当于大约40万辆满载卡车。除了沙石等散装船外，集装箱货船近年来也变得越来越重要。不论什么船，安全始终是指导原则。因此，该升船机有许多液压安全装置。

Bade说道：“每个水槽都有一个液压固定装置，在船舶进出时将水槽固定。还有的液压装置用于关闭水槽两端的闸门和相连的运河闸门，以及根据水位自动调整运河闸门。”，Bade深入了解了升船机运行的实践操作。由于技术要求比较高，Scharnebeck升船机多年来一直依赖 HNSAFLEX 作为液压合作伙伴。

CUSTOMER-ORIENTED COOPERATION

以客户为导向的合作

“We are delighted to be able to count the Scharnebeck ship’s lift, a piece of living technological history, as one of our customers,” explains HANSA-FLEX account manager Jacek Boraczynski. Workshop manager Bade and his team particularly appreciate the customer-oriented cooperation: “Whether it’s the quick re-ordering of hydraulic hose lines with the X-CODE, the Industrial Service for extensive assembly work or the reconditioning of hydraulic cylinders: we always get the support we need without delay. And it’s just as important for us that we can fully rely on the quality of the HANSA-FLEX products and services.”

HANSA-FLEX客户经理Jacek Boraczynski解释说：“我们很高兴能够将Scharnebeck升船机列为我们的客户之一，这是一部活的技术历史。” 升船机车间经理 Christian Bade 和他的团队特别欣赏汉萨以客户为导向的合作：“无论是快速下单带有 X-CODE 的液压软管，或者大量装配工作的工业服务，还是液压油缸的修补翻新：我们都能快速得到想要的支持。我们可以完完全全信赖HANSA-FLEX的产品质量和服务，这对我们非常重要。”